Safety in Stormy Waters
by VeganVampy
Summary: Kasai is a traveler with a hidden past. She's undergone a great journey... and now she's gonna tell us about it. Listen up to hear her facsinating adventure. Rated T for safety.
1. Caught

_**Okay, yes this is a new story and its been a while since I updated the others, but I actually had an idea and a request for this one. So deal with it. Kasai is owned by neonkitteh, not me. If you would like to see what she looks like, neonkitteh has a DA account under the name Nikkitheseedrian. Search Kasai in her gallery and you'll find the picture.**__** Thanks for reading and staying with me guys!**_

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><p>Okay, so I'm just sitting there minding my own business when these dudes come up and knock me out and I wake up in some dark room on a stone floor. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.<p>

I'm a traveler. My name is Kasai. You don't need to know my last name right now. I was traveling from the sand village to the leaf, and right as I walk in this blonde kid sees me and runs over.

"WELCOME TO KONOHA!" he basically screamed in my face. I slapped him and backed away quickly.

"Dude, personal space."

He looked at me somewhat apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

I laughed shortly. "You didn't scare me," I informed him shortly. "You're just overly loud. It hurt my ears."

Blondie looked almost hurt here. Pathetic. I disregarded the look and kept walking, leaving the kid at the village gates. He was wearing a ninja headband, the idiot can take care of himself. I made my merry way to an inn and rented a room, ordered room service, cleaned up, and crashed early so I could hit the streets tomorrow.

-In the morning-

The sun hitting my face woke me in the morning. I combed quickly through my wavy bluish-green hair and redressed in my capree skinny jeans and dark blue elbow length shirt. Blue was my favorite color and I distributed it obviously. Blue eyes, bluish hair, blue jeans, blue shirt, all that stuff. My bright green sandals were the only thing I wore that aren't blue, and that's only because the stores don't make shoes with compartments for knives in blue. I had four knives hidden in my shoes, two in my jean pockets, two in my belt, one in each sleeve, and one hidden beneath my hair, which typically covers about half my face. Knives are my primary weapon, if you couldn't tell.

I left nothing in the hotel room and therefore felt no need to lock it before leaving. The streets were fairly empty as it was still early in the morning. I soon found a resturaunt that was open and ate a speedy breakfast before going to wander the streets and map out the village.

After a half hour or so, I found myself on the outskirts of the village. My eyes swept the trees and buildings in my vacinity, and I was about to continue on my way when I spotted a dog and a boy flying through the treetops. A grin found its way onto my face and I went to investigate.

Upon reaching the forest, I found the boy and his dog playing in a small clearing, their laughter filling the air. The boy's short brown hair was filled with grass and leaves from rolling on the ground, his grin displaying sharpened canines. The dog's fur was a creamy white and he had floppy ears lined in a soft brown. The boy had a ninja headband wrapped around his forehead.

I leapt nearly silently down onto the ground. My prescence was given away by a leaf crumbling beneath my foot. I grinned easily when the boy looked over at me.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously.

"Kasai," I responded. "You?"

"Kiba. Are you new to the village?"

"Maybe," I teased. "Do you know everyone here to recognize a stranger so easily?"

"Yeah," he responded obliviously. "When I was a genin my team had to do chores for just about everyone in the village."

"Fun. Why would you come and do chores for me? We're the same age. I'm perfectly able to take care of my own home."

"Some people are lazy," he responded carelessly, "so they pay us to do their work for them."

I laughed. "Dude, yeah I'm new here. You said when you were a genin. What rank are you now?"

"Chunin," he told me, standing up and brushing himself off before combing all the debris out of his hair. "Are you a ninja?"

"Nah. I'm a traveler."

"Then why do you have so many weapons on you?"

My eyes widened and I took a small step back. "How did you know I had weapons with me?"

"I can smell them. They're freshly polished so they put off a strong scent."

I relaxed at his words. "Oh. You run into a lot of bandits and such on the road. Not that I have anything worth stealing, but you never know." My words weren't completely true, but no one needed to know that.

Kiba tilted his head slightly and his dog stood up and moved around him protectively. "Hey, what's up with you Akamaru?" he asked, rubbing the dog's head. Akamaru growled at me in an undertone before barking once.

"What do you mean she's lying?"

I sent the dog a look before disappearing back into the trees, fingering the knife under my hair. I heard them pursuing me and hid under a lowhanging branch that created a small shelter. Unfortunately, I forgot about the pair's sense of smell. As they made their way closer, I hid one of my knives in my black fingerless gloves.

The branch I was hiding beneath was pushed out of the way and before I could pull my weapon, I found myself pinned to the tree. I glared at the boy I now knew as Kiba when he pulled out the knife hidden underneath my hair.

"We don't need you trying to use this on us when we don't want to fight." He proceeded to disarm me. I hid a smirk when he didn't find the knives in my shoes.

"Why did you run away?" he questioned.

"Would I have ended up in a much different situation if I hadn't?" I retorted. "The only thing that would have ended up different is this would have been in that little clearing instead of here. I was hoping to avoid unneccessary situations."

"Why were you lying earlier?"

"Do I not have a right to my personal secrets?"

"What were you lying about?" he pressed, searching my face for answers.

"None of your business." I attempted an airy response, but it ended up kind of muttered.

At this point, Kiba's dog had hidden all of the knives he had taken away from me, so he let go of my shoulders and backed away slightly.

"If you won't answer to me, we'll have to go talk to the Hokage. You're being suspicious and we're under threat from other villages at the moment. Are you gonna come with me or do I have to drag you?"

I smirked. "Good luck with that," I muttered. "Your Hokage won't get any answer from me you haven't gotten."

Kiba sighed before picking me up and starting back towards the village. I went completely limp just to make it harder on him. We soon reached a tall building and Kiba dropped me on the ground.

"Walk," he told me, guesturing at a staircase. "I don't want to have to get any other ninja down here."

I stood and strode up the staircase in front of him. After a few flights of stairs, Kiba pointed at a door and I opened it before going down the hallway it led into. We stopped at a door and he knocked twice in quick succession.

"Come in."

I entered the room first, seeing a blonde woman and two masked ninja dressed in black in the room. The blonde woman was sitting at a huge desk with a green cover jacket with the kanji "gamble" on it hanging on the back of her chair.

Kiba bowed slightly before saying, "Lady Tsunade, this girl found me in the forest and when Akamaru told me she was lying about the questions I asked her, she ran away. She evaded my interoggation so I brought her to you."

"Thank you Kiba. You are dismissed."

Kiba nodded and left the room. Tsunade made a small motion with her hand and the two ninja in black disappeared.

"What is your name?" the lady I assume is the Hokage asked.

"Kasai."

"Full name."

I smiled sweetly. "You don't need to know that."

She smiled right back at me. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

My smile transformed into a smirk. "Try me and see what happens."


	2. Memories

_**Sorry this took so long to update! I had most of it typed up but I just finished it. Please review and tell me how I did! This is my first attempt at tragedy without romance. Not the whole story (XD) just this chappie. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM PLEASE! Also, I just realized how incredibly short this is. I'll try to make a longer chapter next time.**_

_**Disclaimer: neonkitteh owns Kasai, Kishimoto owns the canon characters, I only own the plot and the characters who obviously aren't canon.**_

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><p>"<em>Try me and see what happens."<em>

The lady smiled at me. "Just so you know, you won't have a chance to fight. You'll be unconscious for most of your interrogation."

My smirk fell. "What do you mean? You can't ask questions of someone who isn't awake."

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Two masked ninja who I now realized were anbu appeared on either side of me and grabbed my arms.

"Take her to Disukaba. He knows what to do."

I glared at Tsunade to hide the small twinge of fear that stabbed at my heart. Why can't these people respect my privacy? What if I didn't _want _them to know who I was, what was hidden in the back of my mind? I didn't even want to remember!

Hatred and terror swirled in chaos, clouding my ability to think clearly. I snapped back to reality when the two anbu dropped me on the ground in a new room. Looking around, I saw a table in the middle of the room and a barred window on the other side. Other than that, the room was completely empty and utterly white.

The sound of footsteps and a door opening met my ears and I instinctively reached for the latch on my shoe that concealed a knife. Two men and a woman in sterile white uniforms came into the room. From their garb, I assumed they were medics of some sort. _'Why would they send medics to question me...?'_

The woman walked over to me and took my hands, pulling me over to the table. "Can you sit down on here?" she asked sweetly.

I nodded and sat down. "My name is Koukishin, and I need you to listen to me, all right? Just ignore those guys for a little while. Now, can you tell me why you wouldn't answer anybody's questions earlier?"

My stupor broke, my mind sharpening on the situation at hand again. "I didn't answer because I didn't want to." I snapped.

This seemed to surprise the lady, but she kept her calm smile up. "Why not?"

"Why are you interested in my personal life?" I shot back.

"Personal life?"

I cursed myself mentally. I slipped up. The best way to evade the answer was to stay silent, so that's what I did.

Koukishin sighed and stepped away from me, the two men coming over.

"Lay down," the one on the left commanded. I didn't move, so he and the other guy pushed me down on the table and strapped my wrists and ankles to the metal surface. I gave them both a steely glare.

"Disukaba," the woman said, "come over here for a moment."

The one who had talked to me went and looked at whatever it was she had before nodding and coming back over to me. He placed his hand on my forehead and muttered, "Sleep well..." Then, the world faded to black.

-Bystander's POV-

The girl's eyes drifted closed, her face relaxing momentarily. The medics backed up and waited for the jutsu they had used to take effect. After a moment, an earsplitting scream cut through the room and Kasai began writhing on the table.

"Stop it!" she cried. "No! _No! NO!_"

The meds quickly moved to restrain her. "This isn't what was supposed to happen!" Koukishin said.

Disukaba responded, "If the emotions in a memory are too strong, the jutsu takes a different effect, sometimes making the subject live the past again. We need to restrain her so she doesn't hurt herself or us."

The other two meds stepped back and held up their hands, chakra ropes shooting up from the table and pinning Kasai down a moment later. Disukaba moved back as well after the ropes were secure.

Screams continued to fill the room, and tears began flowing down Kasai's face. An anbu appeared next to Koukishin and asked, "What is going on? You were told to use a form of the back to the past jutsu, not torture."

All three medics shook their heads and Disukaba gestured at the table. The anbu walked over and checked Kasai's vitals and searched for injuries. Finding no problem and knowing there was no poison in the room, the anbu turned back to Disukaba.

"What is the problem?"

"The jutsu works differently sometimes when there is a strong memory. We assume that is what's happening."

The anbu nodded and disappeared to report to Tsunade.

"What do we do now?" the yet to be named male asked.

"We wait for her to wake up."

-Kasai's POV-

I watched my toddler self playing in a garden, trying to catch the little dragonflies that were circling my head. Suddenly, I found myself in the body of my former self, but not able to control it. My toddler mind was solely focused on the little bugs. A moment of silence fell on my home, then our whole family's compound exploded.

"Kasai!" my older brother's voice exclaimed. I watched him run out into the garden and pick me up. "Thank Kami you're all right."

My little toddler eyes looked out at the scene with wonder and fear, watching the flames engulf our home. Screams met my ears, and those of my parents stood out distinctly in my mind.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I cried, reaching my arm over my brother's shoulder towards the compound.

"No," he told me. "We can't go back there. Mommy and Daddy are fine."

I knew he was lying, but my toddler mind did not and I pulled my arm back, saying, "Okay." A few tears fell down my brother's face, and he turned and ran away from our home, away from the flames and screams and what I now knew was death. A black dragon reared its head behind us, and my brother set me by a tree before calling its attention away from me and the village. _'No!' _I screamed, wishing with all my heart for my brother to have just run away instead of being a hero. I knew what was going to happen. The toddler me giggled and waved at him, and behind her mind I found myself sobbing.

_'Come back! Don't be a hero! The hero always dies!' _I saw the dragon send a jet of purple flames towards my brother, and the left side of his body was badly burned. _'Stop it! No! __**No! NO!' **_My toddler self just watched in fascination, as I tried desperately to turn away from the awful scene. The only thing I could do was watch through her eyes though. As the dragon approached the last of my beloved family, I found myself wanting nothing more than to take my brother's place. Another jet of flame engulfed my brother's body, and his scream of agony mixed with mine of the same, and my toddler self screamed in fear.

After this final deed, the dragon seemed to laugh before turning and leaving my burning compound and the village I used to live in, and I was left to watch my brother's body burn in magic flames that could not be put out. I finally began to pull out of the younger me's body, and the tears streaming relentlessly down my face as I turned and ran into the forest, away from the horrible carnage, a testament to why I never returned to the Hidden Mist Village.


	3. Battle

_**Yeah yeah, I know, its been forever and all I ever give you is short chapters. Sorry. This chapter actually goes somewhere though! I promise. :D**_

_**I posted a poll on my profile. You may get more updates if you answer it. (Hint hint)**_

_**ItaSasuFangirl and mamc97, thank you for your continuous reviews. :) *huggles* **_

_**Disclaimer: neonkitteh owns Kasai.**_

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><p>-Bystander POV-<p>

After a while, Kasai's screaming died down and she lay still on the table, silent tears streaming relentlessly down her face.

"How much longer until she wakes up?" our unnamed companion asked Disukaba.

"Soon, I believe. She's calmer now, so the memory is probably fading."

A moment later, Kasai's eyes opened and all three medics walked cautiously over to her.

"Honey, are you okay?" Koukishin questioned softly. Kasai simply stared dully up at the ceiling. Disukaba waved a hand in front of her face, but she gave no reaction. After several more minutes of trying to release Kasai from her stupor, Koukishin suggested bringing a somewhat familiar face in, namely Kiba and Akamaru.

When Kiba and Akamaru came into the medical room, everyone else left. Akamaru walked over to Kasai and licked her hand, but once again there was no response. Kiba sat down next to her and shook her shoulder gently, calling, "Kasai? Can you wake up? Please?" In the midst of Kiba's sentence, Akamaru licked Kasai's face, and she moved away from him slightly. Akamaru licked her face again in excitement, and her eyes slowly became clearer as she reached over to find what was touching her.

Looking around with little interest on her face, Kasai reached out and pet Akamaru's head. Seeing that she was now awake, Kiba asked again, "Kasai? Are you alright?"

Kasai glanced over at Kiba and gave a slight nod before sitting on the ground next to Akamaru and burying her face in his fur. The medics came back into the room and tried to shoo Kiba and his dog out, but Kasai wouldn't let go of Akamaru's fur and he began guarding her protectively, keeping the medics at a safe distance. They soon gave up and left the three alone again.

Several minutes of silence passed before Kasai spoke up, asking, "How much did they hear?"

"I don't know," Kiba responded. "What were they not supposed to hear?"

Kasai paused for a second, her hands clenching in Akamaru's fur, before turning her head so she could see Kiba and responding, "Something even I would rather not remember. Like I said, its personal."

Kasai's sudden willingness to talk bothered both Kiba and Akamaru, as neither liked seeing someone so broken down that they lost their personality – what the two knew of her personality being what it was.

Kasai never let go of Akamaru's fur that day or night, even in sleep, and the next day Tsunade decided to put her under Kiba and Akamaru's watch, since they'd had the best luck with her so far and she seemed attached to Akamaru.

Over the next few days, Kasai slowly returned to the strong-willed and somewhat blunt person she was, but she still acted a little bit off. A little too quiet, a little too willing to compromise, a little too open. Akamaru never left her side, which meant Kiba was always there as well.

Everything seemed to be fine. That is, until about two weeks after Kasai's stay in the Hokage tower. A certain criminal organization had heard of Kasai and wanted to see how true the reports of her fighting abilities were. Two of them came to find her. Two tall men, one with black hair and the red eyes, one with blue hair and skin and a giant sword. Kiba and Kasai were eating at a restaurant in the village when they came.

-Kasai's POV-

I was eating dumplings, my favorite food, in a simple little restaurant when these two weird looking guys walked in. Kiba and Akamaru didn't notice them, engrossed in their food. I watched them walk in and order their food before sitting down nearby. One of them looked kind of familiar...

"Whatcha starin' at kid?"

I quickly refocused when the familiar looking blue guy addressed me.

"Nothing," I responded. "Are you new here? I don't recognize you."

The blue guy chuckled as the raven continued to ignore me. After receiving no response, I frowned and finished my food before leaving the restaurant.

Once outside, Kiba and I began walking out into the forest, Kiba and Akamaru enjoying the forest and playing around while I sharpened my senses so I would sense any chakra coming towards us. Sure enough, pretty soon I felt two chakra signatures coming towards us. Fast.

"Hide," I told Kiba. "Now."

He gave me a strange look, but quickly hid away in the bushes. After all, I was never wrong about this kind of thing. I have superior battle instincts.

"Be ready to move quickly," I ordered from where I still stood. A few moments later, the two men from the restaurant landed in front of me.

"Hey, looks like at least some of the reports where right. The kid's got good senses," bluey told his partner.

"Hn."

"Aw, you're no fun."

"Hn."

"Whatever."

I watched the two without an ounce of humor, analyzing them carefully. The raven didn't look very strong, so maybe he dealt in genjutsu... he certainly had enough chakra and the right type. The other one was almost pure muscle one of the largest chakra signatures I'd ever seen. He would be taijutsu and ninjutsu.

"What, nothing to say? You're not very friendly," bluey told me.

"Who are you?" I asked in a monotone.

"Woah woah little missy, let's not get all hostile just yet," bluey laughed with an arrogant tone. Who was he? I knew him from somewhere.

"Kisame, just get on with the mission," the raven chided. Kisame? A memory tugged at the back corners of my mind, but I couldn't draw it forth. I could feel Kiba's chakra signature getting agitated. He wanted to help. I used my skill of influencing chakra nature to calm him down so he would stay put.

"Now that's an impressive skill," blue guy told me. The raven studied me closely.

"What are you talking about?" I asked coldly, trying to conceal Kiba's presence.

"Hiding someone else's chakra signature by changing its nature," the raven answered in a monotone. "Its very rare to find someone who can do that."

I frowned as the raven glanced over at exactly where Kiba was hiding. "I would tell your friend to get out of here unless you want him hurt."

Kiba came out of the bushes and stood beside me, facing the men.

"Oh come on! I'm not a stupid genin anymore. Kasai, these guys are members of the Akatsuki. Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha. You can't go against them alone. I've seen you fight, and you don't have a chance. Let's go."

"I wasn't trying to injure you before, idiot. Go," I hissed under my breath to Kiba. He looked completely shocked.

"What? What are you talking about? You're not saying you let me catch you?"

I nodded. "Now _go_," I ordered. Kiba shook his head.

"You're just trying to take the hit for me. I'm staying to help you."

I growled in frustration and my chakra turned an angry dark blue.

"Don't make me waste my chakra on making you leave Kiba. Just _**go.**_"

Kiba looked disbelieving, but he knew I could do that much so he left and hid nearby.

"GO BACK TO THE VILLAGE!" I screamed at him. His chakra signature diminished. I growled in annoyance.

"Seems your friend is a little too loyal," the raven remarked. "I can do something about that." He began activating a jutsu.

I hurriedly stopped the jutsu and moved over to where Kiba was.

"Get out of here. Now. I'm serious Kiba. Go tell the Hokage the Akatsuki are nearby, but don't let her send any reinforcement until I give you the signal. You'll know when its okay."

Kiba seemed unhappy with this, but he did as I told him. I jumped back over to where the Akatsuki were.

"That wasn't smart, Kasai. Now you've pressed us for time," the raven told me.

"No one will interfere unless I allow it."

"You have more power than the Hokage?"

"No, but she knows that I don't just do things for no reason by now."

"Hm."

With the end of the conversation between the raven and I, the battle began. Itachi twisted his hand, locking me in a genjutsu. I broke it immediately.

"Impressive," he commented. Not a moment later, the blue dude attacked me with his sword. I blocked with one of the knives in my sleeves. A small piece of his sword chipped off and my knife cracked. We split apart and flew backwards.

"You broke Samehada?" Kisame asked in horror, petting his sword gingerly. It started healing itself, the spike growing back. I studied my knife a moment before using the heat of my chakra to fix it.

Immediately after, I was trapped in another, stronger genjutsu.

"This is really annoying, you know that?" I muttered to the Uchiha. He started attacking me and making my body fall apart. My knives came alive and stabbed me. I blocked out the pain and destroyed the genjutsu with a burst of chakra that could almost match Kisame's. Kisame came at me again while the genjutsu was still dispersing and I created an anti-chakra barrier to block the hit and any chakra theft.

"Nice move kiddo. I didn't see that coming from someone your size."

"Any skilled ninja knows not to judge their enemies by their size or appearance."

"A skilled ninja also knows not to be distracted by their enemies," the raven's voice said from behind me. I quickly used a substitution jutsu to escape the attack. As I moved to my new location, Kisame's sword, Samehada, scraped my side and stole some of my chakra. I bit my lip to keep quiet.

Kisame started laughing uproariously and I discreetly channeled chakra to my side, where it started to heal the shallow wound. Itachi gave Kisame an annoyed but questioning look.

"Samehada likes her chakra! Ha!"

"What's so funny about that?" I asked, my opinion of these guys dropping by the second.

"Samehada hasn't liked the taste of anyone's chakra since before I left the Hidden Mist!" Kisame told me, still laughing.

My eyes widened. "The Hidden Mist...?" I asked myself. Taking advantage of my surprise, Itachi trapped me in a genjutsu I recognized as something my jounin sensei had trained me in. Even the most skilled ninja took at least an hour to break it. Curse words streamed rapid fire through my mind as I realized that trapped in here, I wouldn't be able to signal Kiba.

Chains came flying from every direction and wrapped around me so I couldn't move. I glared at the Uchiha that appeared several feet in front of me and released a huge amount of chakra – enough to disrupt the genjutsu for a moment, but not enough to break it – and the chains broke, leaving me on the ground. I fell to my knees, realizing the huge mistake I had just made.

I used too much chakra.

I felt the world closing in around me as the red skies turned black, and the genjutsu started fading in and out, allowing me glances at the real world. When the genjutsu released, I found myself lying on the ground between the two Akatsuki members. I tried to signal Kiba by flaring my chakra, but I didn't have enough left. It dawned on me, as Kisame bent to pick me up, that that had been their plan the entire time.

"Why can't you people just leave me alone?" I mumbled quietly, before I felt myself moving, still held firmly in Kisame's arms.

I was leaving with them, whether I liked it or not. And Kami knows where I was going...


	4. Captor-Captive Bonding

_**Hey guys! This is chapter four! Hooray! I made it a little longer, spell checked it, and didn't end it with someone passing out! Aren't you all proud of me? I gave you a little insight into the guys' minds as well. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for sticking with me guys~!**_

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><p>-3rd Person-<p>

"I kind of feel sorry for the kid," Kisame said, glancing down at the girl in his arms, her teal colored hair – just a shade darker than his own skin – splayed across her face.

"Hn," Itachi grunted, his eyes flicking over to Kisame.

"I mean, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone'? With a line like that, you gotta wonder how many people have come after her. I can't help but sympathize."

"Don't lose focus. The mission is to capture her and bring her back to base. Emotions will only get in the way."

Kisame snorted. "Geez Itachi, when did you become so heartless?"

"Hn."

Kisame chuckled in amusement at his partner before turning his attention back to Kasai. As he stared at her trouble face, something pulled at his heart. He shook his head, dismissing it as empathy for her situation. However, as they traveled on, the feeling continued to bother him, and something in the back of his mind told him it was a little more than just empathy...

-Kasai's POV-

When consciousness found me, I was laying on my side on the forest floor. I closed my eyes again and sent a small amount of chakra out of my body to give me a general layout of the area.

"That's not a good idea," the raven – whom Kiba had identified as Uchiha Itachi – told me.

I wasn't stupid enough to think I could fool him into believing I was still asleep, so I slowly sat up and leaned into the tree behind me. Kisame gave me a toothy grin as I observed my surroundings before placing my head in my hands to balance myself.

"You really trust me enough not to tie me up?" I asked.

"You are in no condition to be running, much less fighting," the raven responded.

"Who said anything about fighting? I could kill you both in your sleep and run away."

"Itachi doesn't sleep," Kisame told me with amusement.

"Well then, I could use a substitution jutsu and sneak off into the night," I told them.

"You could do that with your hands tied as well," Itachi answered evenly.

"Yeah, but it'd be a heck of a lot harder to hide or get away," I retorted. Kisame started laughing.

"You're a weird one, kid, giving away your escape tactics like that."

I snorted. "Those tactics are amateur. Mine are much better."

Kisame started laughing uproariously. I leaned forward and clutched my head tightly, the loud pounding in my ears making me dizzy and slightly nauseous.

"Kisame," Itachi called. Kisame looked down at my contorted face and smiled sheepishly.

"Right. Sorry."

As the pounding in my head slowly faded, I felt two cool pairs of fingers gently massaging my temples and another large hand softly stroking my hair. As creeped out as I was, it helped the headache, so I didn't protest. After a few minutes, both Akatsuki members drew away, and I raised my head, looking at them warily.

"Why are you being helpful?" I asked.

Kisame smiled. "We had orders, kiddo. We knew you weren't just gonna pick up and leave if we told you why we were looking for you, so we had to snatch you. Doesn't mean we can't treat you like a comrade, which is what you'll be just as soon as you get all cleared with Leader, now that you're stuck with us."

I glanced over at Itachi, who nodded.

"Why would you be looking for me?" I asked in honest confusion. "You two took me down without even working out a sweat, and on top of that you managed to dismantle all my plans for getting away by using my own abilities against me. I'm obviously not that great, so why?"

"You weren't fighting at your full potential," the raven told me evenly, cutting me off when I started to protest. "You thought you were, but you weren't. You were distracted and hindered by the proximity to the village and the need to protect your friend. We had no such restraints."

"Honestly, you're little buddy kinda helped us on accident too," Kisame chuckled. "You were thrown off when he told you I was from the Mist. Of course, I was a little distracted by the fact that judging by your reaction, you are too, but I had Itachi to cover me."

A shadow of a smile crept onto Itachi's face at Kisame's statement. I raised my hand to brush my hair back and push the knife hanging by my face back into its holder so it wouldn't accidentally cut my face, but a surge of returning chakra coursed through my veins and I fell backward with a strangled gasp. The painful feeling quickly faded, and I looked over at my abductors and, still breathing somewhat heavily, said, "You know, if your plan wasn't so ingenious, I would hate you right now, but oddly enough, instead I'm kind of impressed."

I twitched my arm and caught my breath at the pain that shot through my body. Glancing at the two Akatsuki members again, I said, "I can't move. I have a small little knife holder next to my ear so I won't get cut while I'm moving. Would one of you be a wonderful person and put my knife in it please?"

Kisame was closer to me, so he reached over and pulled my hair back, revealing the knife dangling beside my face. Kisame chuckled and placed it in the holder that was, as I mentioned before, next to my ear.

"Clever hiding place," Kisame grinned. I smiled tiredly.

"I have eleven knives total hidden on my person. Clever is necessary."

Kisame looked a little impressed, and the shadow of a smile crept back onto Itachi's face.

"The sheath is clever as well. It makes it nearly impossible for your own weapon to injure you," Itachi commented, studying the holder I had fashioned from a few feet away. I nodded my head, and as the light moved on my face, Kisame caught a glimpse of the thin scar going across my cheek.

"I see you learned by experience," he observed, brushing his thumb across the scar.

"Yeah. I was a little stupid back then," I responded, glancing down uncomfortably at his hand. He noticed and pulled away.

A moment of silence passed before Itachi rose from his place on the ground, saying, "We should begin moving. It's almost midday."

I tried to move my arm downward again, but as before, a bolt of pain shot through me, so Kisame lifted me easily from the ground and jumped into the treetops along with Itachi. The constant jostling sent extreme bolts of pain shooting through my body, and within a few minutes, I was unconscious again.

-Itachi POV-

We're not supposed to let our emotions get in the way of our missions. So why am I behaving so kindly towards the girl? Yes, her personality is similar to that of my brother, but even so...

I looked over at Kisame and Kasai, wondering how the two of us had managed to become so attached to our hostage in such a short amount of time...

-Kisame POV-

As I ran, I pondered over how the girl in my arms could seem so familiar to me. When I came up blank, I decided to see if I could collect any clues from her.

"Hey, Kasai, what's your family name?" I asked her. When I received no response, I glanced down to find her unconscious in my arms, her face twisted slightly and her hands clenching the outer layer of my cloak. Her physical reaction to chakra exhaustion was uncommon, to say the least. I'd only seen one other person have that kind of reaction, and I had difficulty remembering her name... that wasn't important though.

I made a mental note to ask her about her life in the Hidden Mist when she woke up and began trying to disentangle the strange emotions that had plagued my mind since first meeting Kasai. This girl sure does have something special to her...


End file.
